


Unity

by myotishia



Series: All ye who enter here [11]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: this is going to be angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 13:44:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20154574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myotishia/pseuds/myotishia
Summary: The team is shaken as Elise is kidnapped by people claiming to be part of UNIT.





	Unity

**Author's Note:**

> New reader? Start right [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18551278)

“What the hell do you think I’m calling about?!” Jack boomed. He’d been on hold for more than long enough. Tosh had been distraught when she reported in and explained that UNIT had taken Elise at gunpoint and they hadn’t been gentle about it. 

The haggard looking major looked honestly shocked. “I have no idea.”

“One of my agents was abducted at gunpoint in broad daylight only an hour ago! I want to know who ordered this and why!”

“This is the first I’ve heard of anything like that. I value our working relationship and would never order anything that would jeopardise that. Let me investigate and-”

“You don’t understand. If this agent is taken too far from Cardiff she will die.”

“I know you have a flair for the dramatic but-”

“Do I look like I’m joking?!” Jack slammed his fist down on the table.

The major paused. “While I’m looking into this I’m going to send one of my agents to you. They can bring you up to speed as to why this might have happened. I will personally make sure that all of our bases are locked down until your agent is found. They will not cross the border.”

“If she dies then our working relationship is over. Am I clear?”

“Perfectly. My agent will be with you in a few hours. She has travelled with the Doctor and I know she can be trusted.”

Jacks manner softened instantly. “Who?”

“She joined us not long ago. Her name is Dr Martha Jones.”

Captain Reginald (Reggie) Wells had been shocked that this Torchwood asset had come willingly. It seemed protective over the agent that had been with it. By now their Captain would be blowing a fuse he was sure but as long as he could keep it long enough to get to London it wouldn’t matter. His men didn’t even seem to want to look at the caged thing that looked like a human woman. It looked almost board. 

They had two stops before they reached London but as far as anyone at the base knew this was a high risk prisoner being transported. They wouldn’t ask too many questions. He’d made sure it left any identification, weaponry, technology and even her boots back with who must have been its handler. The intelligence that his team had gathered said this thing was completely human but he knew that was impossible. Humans don’t teleport. He wanted to get a full set of tests done if he could but his team lacked a medic. As long as this thing was chained to a vehicle or a guard it wouldn’t be able to do its little party trick so in that way he had plenty of time.

Martha had no idea what to expect. The Doctor had told her about Jack: the overly flirtatious ex conman who could talk himself out of almost any situation. She doubted she’d get to see that side of him though with the situation as it was. At least she knew he could be trusted. She had been told to meet him in a small, unassuming, tourist information centre and she wondered if it was some kind of joke. A well dressed young man sat behind the desk with a false smile that was nowhere close to meeting his eyes. 

“This is a strange question but I was supposed to meet a Captain Jack Harkness here, do you know him?” She asked, wondering why a small tourist information centre would have a ‘office formal’ dress code. 

“And your name?” The man asked with an accent she should have expected.

“Oh, I’m Dr Martha Jones.”

“This way please.” He nodded, a hidden door popping open in the wall. 

He lead her through a dark hallway that looked like it was right out of a train station from the 1900’s. Everything she’d seen so far felt like a mish mash of time periods and levels of technology. It was almost nostalgic. She studied the hub, wide eyed as she walked through the cog door. She expected it to be larger and a lot more busy but other than a quiet hum it was almost silent. 

“They’re waiting for you in the boardroom,” the Welshman said, pulling her from her thoughts. 

“Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Ianto Jones. As Jack puts it, I keep this place running. I’m sure he’ll introduce everyone.”

“Everyone? Won’t that take a long time?”

“You’re overestimating how many of us there are. Dr Jones?”

“Just Martha’s fine.” She smiled.

“The person who’s been taken. She’s important to us. Not as an asset, as a friend, I just wanted you to understand that.” The sadness in his eyes started to make more sense.

“I will.”

He opened the boardroom door and gestured for her to enter. The room felt warm and a lot less impersonal than she was used to. A quick glance around the room explained exactly why. They were a very small, single team. Ianto pulled out a chair for her before taking his own place at the table. She sat and waited for someone to break the silence. The man at the other end of the table, who looked as if he’d been dropped directly from the 50’s into modern day smiled softly. She had to admit just looking into those blue eyes made her heart flutter a little. 

“Usually I’d make small talk but this meeting is time sensitive. I’m Captain Jack Harkness. You’ve already met the always sharply dressed Ianto Jones. This is Gwen Cooper, our police liaison.-” He gestured to a woman who gave her a friendly smile. It was a shock to see someone who was clearly pregnant still actively working with this kind of thing. “-Toshiko Sato, our technical expert.-” The other woman he gestured to had clearly been crying but had hidden it with concealer. She was well dressed and seemed the shy type but she looked up to at least register Martha’s existence. “-And Dr Owen Harper, our medic.” The man sitting next to Toshiko, his hand rested over hers, nodded a greeting. He looked just as grim but there was a tenseness to him, like a coiled spring. 

“I’m Dr Martha Jones. It’s nice to meet you. I just wish it was under better circumstances.”

“Speaking of, the agent that was taken. Her name Is Elise Carter, she’s a field agent. We know why she was singled out as she has skills that could be exploited.-” An image popped up on a screen on the wall of a woman with long brown hair. “- She came from a future that no longer exists. This process has permanently linked her to the rift itself and gives her the ability to teleport at will. That is all that’s in her file so we guess that’s what they’re looking for.”

“That sounds like there’s more.” 

“Well, if they aren’t just using her file then they may know that she has a limited time travel ability.”

Martha turned back to Jack. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

“It shouldn’t be but that’s Elise. The reason this is time sensitive is due to the fact that if she is taken too far from the rift it will pull back and will likely kill her.”

“How far?”

“Exactly? We don’t know, but we’re sure that the Welsh border can be used as a point of no return. As she believes them to be part of UNIT she won’t fight them so it’s up to us.”

Martha let all that information sink in for a moment. “I think it’s time I gave you our side of this now. UNIT has been having funding issues for some time now and has been downsized. This has caused unrest and some groups have splintered off. They can’t be removed without any proof of illegal activity. They believe what they’re doing is right and we think this could be part of their plan to take over control of UNIT.”

“How?”

“We thought the rumours were separate from this but from what you tell me that isn’t the case. There have been whispers that they plan to commit some kind of attack against someone in the government using an alien force as a scapegoat. This would push the government into pouring resources back into UNIT. I don’t know whether they’re going to try and manipulate her into doing something or try and replicate her abilities somehow so they’re in full control.”

“She wouldn’t give in to that.” Said Tosh quietly, staring down at the table. 

Jack softened his voice. “We know Tosh. But it gives us an opening if they want to replicate her powers. They would need a UNIT medical team.”

Martha gulped, knowing that would be a possibility. “And that’s why I’m here. I can put myself forward to lead that medical team and try to rescue her.”

“We’re going to be running this show but I’ve been given full support from the major. I doubt they’ll be honest about who she is or why she’s been brought in by them so we need you to be able to get her away from them. We can track her exact position but we can’t make an aggressive move as we would be easily outgunned and they could hurt her. Tosh can outfit you with everything we’ll need for surveillance and a few things to help if something does go wrong. Owen can brief you on Elises medical history just in case. We hope you won’t need the information but Elise has notoriously bad luck.” 

Elise staggered as she was pushed into a dark cell. The shackles around her wrists and ankles clattering as she slumped to the floor, a long chain keeping her attached to the door so she couldn’t teleport. Tosh had mentioned what UNIT prisons were like so it wasn’t a shock, not that it made it feel any less awful. The longer she was there the more likely she was to be rescued. At least she knew she could be tracked. She considered her situation for a moment before opening the vortex manipulator on her wrist. She slipped the device out of its case and opened the hatch in her metal arm, hiding it inside. If they confiscated her watch then she wouldn’t even be able to sleep so it would just have to stay inside for a while. She lent her head back on the wall.

“If the bug is active and you can hear me I’m ok. They’re complete arseholes but otherwise I’m fine. I hope you’re all ok. I still want to take apart that shark when I get back. I’m gonna nap for a bit. Talk to you later.” She said, forcing a smile so she wouldn’t sound as nervous as she really was. She curled up on the floor and rested her head on her arm.

Martha blinked, getting used to the contact lenses she’d been given, and readied herself to meet the head of this little splinter group. Captain Wells tapped his foot in frustration, viewing a list of possible candidates for the medical team.

“Captain Wells?”

He didn’t look up. “Hmm?”

“You’re looking for a medic and I want to find out how your captive does what she does.”

He dropped the papers to the table. “How did you find out?”

“We have contacts in common. I don’t want too many details, just access to your captive.”

A sly smile spread across his face. “And what if I tell you no?”

“Then I take everything I know to the top. If I disappear I have a dead mans switch to send everything to the major.” 

“I like you. Ok. I’ll give you access to that thing, but I want all of the results. Deal?”

“Deal.” 

“It’s in cell two. Do you need security?”

“I can handle myself.”

He tossed a key across the table. “Don’t take too long, we’re moving to the next base at 2200.”

“I’ll be as fast as I can but I won’t be rushed.” She took the key and made her way down the hallway. 

The words ‘Nice work’ rolled across her vision. The heavy lock clunked open and Martha let her eyes adjust to the dim light.

“Elise?” She asked, quietly, making sure no one else heard her.

The shackled woman opened an eye and sat up, squinting at the light from the doorway. “Are we moving? I could really do with calling my boss right now.”

Martha smiled, closing the door behind her. “That’s exactly who sent me. I’m Martha.”

“Can you prove who sent you?”

“Umm.” She paused. ‘Tell her: song 32, desk chair, old house.’ rolled across her vision. “Song 32, desk chair, old house. I have no idea what that means.”

Elises eyes immediately lit up. “I didn’t even notice the lenses. Hi Tosh.”

“You can tell who’d typing just from that?”

“It’s something only she knows. So what’s going on?”

“These guys are a splinter group. We haven’t been able to do anything about them without evidence. We were worried if we just stormed this place after they took you they could kill you so we’re trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“What’s your cover story then?”

“They wanted a medic to do a few tests and I happen to be a doctor. How do you feel about needles because I can’t walk out of here with nothing.”

Elise pulled up her sleeve. “No problem. Maybe you can convince them I’m human and they can stop calling me ‘it’.”

“I’m going to need to open the door to get some light in here. I’m going to have to play along just in case they’re listening.”

“Got it. I’m on my best behaviour anyway.”

Martha pulled open the door and lead Elise into the brightly lit hallway. It was rare to find someone who watched as you took their blood but Elise seemed quite interested. That or she was making sure everything was done correctly. Three vials later she calmly stepped back into the cell. The door closed with a thud and the lock closed just as loudly as it had opened. 

Martha had expected the blood test to show some kind of anomaly but there was nothing out of the ordinary. At least with the usual tests she ran. While those results were printing she decided to look a little closer. She studied the image of one of the red blood cells and something looked off. Zooming in she could see black lines across the surface of the cell. Fractal patterns forming a fine net around each one. Knowing that this could damage her case she wiped any record of her findings. Her contacts would have already sent the image through to Torchwood. This wasn’t in Elise’s medical record so did they even know?

“What have you found?” Captain Wells asked from the doorway, making Martha jump. She regained her composure and turned to him.

“Genetically she-”

“It.”

“It is human.”

“That isn’t possible. How?” 

“That’s what the results show.”

“Pack everything up for now. We’re moving it in five minutes. Baker! Make sure our new doctor is ready on time. You’ll be travelling with her in the back with the cage. We’re meeting the rest of the lads at the next stop.”

A young man saluted. “Yes sir.”

Jack pulled on his coat. “I was hoping they could stall but something tells me that isn’t going to happen.”

“Are we going to catch up?” Asked Owen, who’d been ready to chase since Elise was taken.

“It’s late and we can move faster than they can. If we have no other choice then we can just blow out their tyres.” He stopped as an odd sound filled the air. “What is that?”

Ianto sighed. “It’s Janet. She’s been crying for the last ten minutes.”

“I don’t think it’s just her.” Gwen called over. Pointing at the multiple camera feeds up on her screen. Turning up the sound on them played the exact same haunting cries. “The police are getting noise complaints all across the city.”

“Tell them to stay away and advice anyone calling them to stay in their homes. I get the feeling the absence of our weevil whisperer is what’s upsetting them.” Jack said before heading off. 

William baker didn’t feel right about what his captain was doing and hoped that this new medic felt the same. He held the chain that lead to the prisoners shackles which seemed a bit much. The captain was waiting by the truck and gestured for him to hurry up. Suddenly a dark figure lunged from the side of the truck, sinking its shark like teeth into the captains shoulder. William dropped the chain and shot the creature between the eyes, running over to help his fallen superior. Wells swatted him away.

“Stay with the prisoner!” He ordered, holding his mauled arm.

Martha knelt down to see the damage. 

“That was a weevil. That needs disinfecting and a course of antibiotics.” Said Elise, making no attempt to run. 

The captain glared at her. “Shut up. I don’t need your fucking advice.”

“Do you know what weevils eat? They literally eat shit. If that isn’t cleaned properly the fever’ll set in within the next two hours.”

“Don’t try and stall me. Jones, just wrap it up and I’ll deal with it when we stop.”

Martha gave him a look that screamed ‘are you serious?’

“Just do it!” 

She did as she was asked, cutting away the tattered sleeve and stopping any further blood loss. Sirens blared behind the group as they climbed into the truck. The weevils were attacking and Elise couldn’t tell them to stop. It would be a massacre. She sat down in the back of the cage and put her hands over her ears until they were far enough away that she couldn’t hear the screams anymore. 

Jack and Owen could still hear the weevil cries even though they were a fair distance away from the city. The creatures must have spread out in search.

“How do you think they can tell she’s not in the city?” Owen asked, trying to keep his mind on anything other than the rage he was feeling.

Jack shrugged. “I swear we know less about them day by day… What the-” He began as they passed the UNIT base. A gang of weevils were unsuccessfully fighting the UNIT soldiers. Others were already dead. This was getting out of hand.

“So where is the next base?” Martha asked, watching William carefully.

“Originally we were going to stop just down the road but the captain changed his mind and he wants to head right through to Shropshire.” He said, unlatching Elises shackles, replacing them with a set of old handcuffs. “If anything happens you can break these pretty easily.”

The blood fled from Elises face but she tried to push the fear down.“Why are you helping him?” 

“I don’t want to. I mean when this started he said he just wanted to make sure none of us were transferred out. My girlfriend’s pregnant so I need to be in the country. If I get transferred I’ll be sent overseas. He said he wanted to set up an alien attack. We’d charge in and save the day. No one would get hurt and we’d get our funding back but… Things have changed.”

“If we tried to escape would you stop us?”

“I don’t want to hurt you. Just wait until we get to the next base and we can take this up the chain of command.”

“William, I’m not going to live that long. The further from the rift we go the more chance part of me gets pulled back.”

“Are you serious?”

“Well I’m not bloody joking.”

“I-” He looked back at the doors. “We’re going too fast. If you jumped out you’d die.”

“I couldn’t jump if I wanted to. I thought the dizziness was stress but now I’m not so sure.”

“Is there any way we can get him to pull over?” Asked Martha, slipping on an earpiece she had hidden inside her coat.

William shook his head. “The way he’s acting right now I don’t think so.”

Elise wrapped her arms around her stomach as best she could, wincing. 

“Are you ok?”

She shook her head. “Feels like burning.”

Martha pulled off her jacket and folded it for Elise to rest her head on. She flopped down, concentrating on her breathing. 

“If we can get the doors open maybe he’ll notice and at least slow down.” The doctor said, walking over to the doors and pulling the release latch. Nothing happened. William was as confused as she was. They noticed that the doors would move a few inches and a chain reflected moonlight in the small visible gap. 

“He locked us in.” He growled as he kicked the door. 

“Martha!” Elises pained voice cried. 

She knelt next to the woman, staring at the black lines blooming beneath her skin. “I’m here. What’s happening?”

“Listen-” She gasped, breathing becoming more and more difficult. “I need you to take a few messages back for me.”

“That sounds a lot like giving up. Come on, you’re stronger than that. We’re going to get out of this so you can go home.” 

“Please… Tell Tosh and Owen I love them… I’m sorry I won’t be around for… Date night… Tell Ianto I’m sorry I … Won’t be able to… Go to comicon with him… I… I’m sorry I’ll never… Get to meet baby Anwen… Or buy her all the noisy… toys at Christmas… Tell Gwen her baby shower gift… It’s hidden in my workshop… And tell Jack… I’m sorry I couldn’t be around-” Tears streamed down her face and onto the jacket she had for a pillow. “- I kind of… Wanted to stay… As long as I could… No one deserves to be alone… Martha, please… Promise.”

“Elise. Just hold on a bit longer and you can do all those things.” 

“Please.” She sobbed as dark lines invaded her vision.

Martha nodded, tears falling from her own eyes. 

“Thank you… For being with me… For this… I don’t want to be… Alone.” 

She took the womans hand, feeling how cold her skin had become. “Then don’t leave me alone here, yea?”

“I’m … Sorry.” 

William punched the door, his heart breaking knowing that he’d been part of this. He took his gun and aimed for the drivers seat. “Hold on to something.” He said before he fired. 

Jack saw a thin line of light flash at the back of the truck ahead of them. It began to swerve before plowing into the hedgerow. Plant matter flew in every direction as the truck slowed to a very swift stop. Jack and Owen jumped out of the SUV the second it stopped and ran over to the crashed vehicle. The lock gave way with a well placed kick and the doors swung open. Martha was huddled in the corner of the cage holding Elise to stop her getting hurt further. William had been thrown against the back wall but he was conscious. 

Owen climbed in and pulled Elise into his arms. She was barely breathing anymore.

“Get her to the SUV.” Jack said gesturing to the open doorway and offering a hand to Martha. She took his hand and stood moving to follow Owen. 

William looked up at Jack.

“You shot the driver.” The captain said.

“I didn’t want her to die. I never wanted to hurt anyone.” 

“Come on. UNIT can decide that later.”

“Shouldn’t I stay here?”

“Up to you but your arm looks broken.” He said as he jumped out of the vehicle. 

William followed so far before sitting on the grass. He knew UNIT would at least want their truck back and running wouldn’t help. He closed his eyes, ready for a long wait, when he hears a sigh and felt himself being lifted by the back of his collar and marched to the SUV. Jack practically threw him into the back.

“Sit there, shut up.” Jack grumbled before closing the boot. He’d help the young man out but he could feel like luggage on the trip. 

Toshiko, Ianto and Gwen all sat together silently, having seen everything from Martha's point of view. No one wanted to speak lest it somehow make things worse. It would take over an hour for the SUV to get back without any stops and by then it would be too late. Gwen shook her head.

“No.” She breathed, swallowing her tears. 

“What?” Tosh asked, trying to breath through silent sobs.

“She’s not dead yet. She’s been through too much for us to just give up on her now.”

“Gwen-”

“We can’t just sit here feeling sorry for ourselves. I’m going to make sure their route is completely clear.” She stood and made her way back to her desk. She was exhausted but that had never stopped her before. Though that was before she was limited to one cup of coffee per day. 

“Gwen’s right.” Ianto said softly, more to himself than anything else. He stood and slipped off his jacket, wrapping it around Toshiko’s shoulders. “I’m going to check our medical supplies and make sure everything’s accessible. Do you need anything?”

Tosh pulled the jacket around herself, feeling comforted by its warmth. She shook her head. 

“Just call if you need anything.”

She watched him leave before wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath. They were right, this wasn’t over yet. She pulled herself up and moved to her desk, looking up at her screens. Through Marthas eyes she could see that Elise was still breathing and, for now, that was enough.

Elises breaths were still shallow but not as sporadic as they had been. The lightest of the black lines were fading but she still hadn’t woken up. Her vitals were stabilising so she should have been coming round. 

“Has this ever happened before?” Martha asked.

Owen shook his head, not turning from his patient. “Not this. We were told she could die away from the rift but we didn’t know how. I’ll do some more tests once she’s back with us.”

“By who?”

“I’ll give you one guess.” Jack called back with a fond smile, that quickly faded as he remembered the Doctors one request to keep her out of the wrong hands.

“Of course, who else?” 

“Even he couldn’t work out how she exists. I think it annoys him.”

“It definitely annoys him.” Martha laughed softly.

Owen rolled his eyes but he appreciated the levity. He had to admit he had feared the worst when the truck crashed. The handcuffs that were wrapped around Elises wrists opened easily with a little persuasion from a more old fashioned lock pick. Owen kept it with him just in case. His heart skipped a little when he felt the strap around her metal wrist, the manipulator unit missing. Earlier she said she was taking a nap, meaning it still had to be with her. He rolled up her sleeve and tapped the access panel, one side lifting to reveal the small unit hidden inside. He moved it back to where it should have been and closed the small panel. It was an odd thing he’d just gotten used to. Having walked in on her with it open and a small screwdriver half buried in it as she tinkered away more times than he could count. He had to convince her not to integrate a lot of tech they commonly used with it so she didn’t go too far. After this maybe he’d let her add the digital lock pick if nothing else. She certainly wouldn’t be running around for a while. He brushed back her hair carefully, silently wishing she’d just open her eyes. 

The sound of Janets cries had faded into background noise but was suddenly very noticeable by its absence. Tosh opened the feed from her cell and found the weevil quite calm and bedding down to sleep. She hoped that was a good sign. 

“It looks like they’ve all stopped.” Smiled Gwen before yawning. 

“If you want to head home I’ll text you if anything changes.”

“I don’t think I could sleep even if I did. I think Anwen’s teaching herself to dance.”

“If she’s anything like her mother then that isn’t going to slow down.” Tosh smiled softly.

“Rhys has already started baby proofing everything. I found him checking the bloody skirting boards for sharp edges the other day. He was on the floor, sanding block in one hand, little pot of paint in the other. I thought I was the one who was meant to be nesting, not him.”

Tosh chuckled at the image and lent back in her chair, rubbing the bridge of her nose. This wouldn’t be the first time she’d spent the night at the hub but it had never bothered her before. Back then she always went home to an empty bed so it was nice having a reason to have some kind of human contact. Now she just wanted to curl up with Owen and Elise and pretend everything was fine. Tears began to blur her vision again, knowing that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. 

Jack dropped Owen, Martha and Elise off at the hub. Ianto waiting to help as they arrived. 

“I’ll be right back, call me if anything changes.” The captain nodded. He didn’t expect an answer. 

Once the lights from the street were visible again William spoke up. “Thank you for not leaving me there sir.”

“It would have taken UNIT until the morning to get you some help. If you hadn’t shot Wells Elise would definitely be dead. I can’t help you much but I can at least get you to a hospital. How’s your arm?”

“It hurts but it could have been worse.”

“Your actions will stand in your favour when this all gets straightened out. I’m sure Martha will put in a good word to the Major for you.”

“Thank you sir. If it means anything I really hope your agent recovers quickly.”

“Yea me too.”

Martha hadn’t had a chance to see much of Owens side of the hub when she first got to the hub. It was the same kind of mix of technology but much brighter. She looked up at the projection on the wall as Owen set off multiple scans. He didn’t know why Elise hadn’t regained consciousness yet. From what he could tell she should have been able to wake up half an hour ago. The black veins had faded to almost nothing and her breathing had levelled out. It was as if she was simply sleeping. 

“This is so much more advanced than anything we have.” Martha commented, reading the results the scans were giving. No bones broken, pulse steady, brain activity normal, no sign of any serious injury.

“It’s more advanced than anything anyone has. You should get Tosh talking about the computer system. It’s one step away from being bloody sentient.” Owen spoke as if it was mundane, more interested in his patient.

“I’ll ask later. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not right now. Physically she’s fine so we just have to wait for her to wake up.”

Martha nodded sympathetically. “Can I ask… What does song 32, desk chair, old house mean?”

Owen laughed. “It’s nothing that mysterious. It’s the song that was playing, and the place, where Elise and Tosh first kissed.”

“Oh my god. That’s one of the cutest things I’ve ever heard.”

“Yea, I think they’re trying to see if they can be so adorable it becomes lethal.”

A voice came from the doorway. “Tosh would like to know if she’s allowed to visit.” Ianto said, Tosh snuffling behind him. 

“Yea. She’s still out but she’s stable.”

Tosh ran down and almost barrelled Owen over, descending into sobs and gripping onto his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her. 

“Hey, it’s ok.” He soothed. All the tension he’d been carrying all day was gone. 

Martha mouthed that she’d give them some time, seeing Owens eyes glisten and knowing most guys never wanted you to see them cry. He felt stupid for it. Elise was alive and right here but he still felt the looming shadow of grief he thought he’d long left behind. It was the powerlessness of it. Logically she should be awake and she wasn’t. There was nothing he could do to change that. That’s what had hit Tosh so hard, why she was gripped onto him as if he would disappear if she was to loosen her hold. He grabbed a chair for her and let her sink down. She took Elises hand, her fingers still cool but not the ice cold they had been. 

“I was so sure it was over. I’m sorry I didn’t believe in you. Both of you.” Tosh breathed, trying to stop the tears from falling. 

Owen dragged over a chair and sat next to her. “Don’t apologise.” He let her lean on him, the tiredness hitting him. 

Ianto was waiting when Jack returned. 

“Gwen’s just gone home and Martha’s headed to a hotel for the night. I promised to inform them when Elise wakes up.” The younger man said, his voice low and quiet.

“Thanks. You should get some sleep, it’s been a long day.”

“Are you planning on sleeping tonight?”

“Honestly, I just might.” He smiled and patted Ianto on the shoulder softly, heading to check on the rest of his staff. He could see from the doorway that Owen and Tosh were both fast asleep, lent against each other. He was about to turn back when he heard a small noise. Something somewhere between a whimper and a groan. Like the sound you make when someone wakes you up by opening the curtains to let in the blinding sunlight. 

He walked down to see Elise looking back, bleary eyed. 

“Welcome back to the land of the living.” He said quietly, as not to wake up the other two. 

“W-what happened?” She asked groggily.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Taking Monty out. Did he explode or something? I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.” She winced slightly as she took a deep breath.

“For once your robot is still in one piece. We know what happens when you get too far from the rift now.”

“Should I ask how?”

“You’ll probably remember once you’ve rested. The weevils lost their minds without you here.”

“Really? How did they even know?”

“We have no idea. Usually I’d say to let those two sleep but I think they’d want to know you’re conscious.”


End file.
